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Archive for August, 2010

Just in from my final practice of the 2010 season. The weather took a turn and it was overcast, breezy and even a bit chilly (at least for me, but I like it HHH!) Guys were in full pads and when I arrived at 2:00 the Offense, with the exception of the OLine, was already on the field working. The rest of the crew came out in time for the 2:30 practice.

Here are the tidbits for today:

*As reported earlier today, Torry Holt was placed on IR and Ross Ventrone was released, while we picked up Buddy Farnham, after releasing him last week, and also signed OL Brian Simmons. Burgess made his first camp appearance.

* During 1:1 tackling drills with LB vs. TE, Burgess schooled Hernandez, knocking him down to one knee.

* First laps went to Ryan Wendel (69) Zac Robinson (7) . Later, during full squad work, Matt Light false started, went to the huddle attempting to fly under the radar, but was “encouraged” by Scar’s loud verbal instruction and hand motions to take his lap.

* During 7:7 work, Wheatley (EDIT: I initially wrote Wilhite but had roster numbers wrong) made a nice defensive play, staying step for step with Darnell Jenkins breaking up a deep pass from Hoyer (?).

* BB was giving Marques Murell some hands on, 1:1 demonstration and instruction in jamming up a RB at the line and going back into coverage.

* Catch of the day goes to long bomb from Brady to Welker who caught the catch downfield untouched. Moss took the opportunity to taunt the sideline D for the blown coverage.

* Spikes made a couple of back to back plays during situational work flattening the RBs. Wilfork was loving in, playfully flexing to the Offense for D’s big stops.

* Hoyer continues to come up big in the trash can drill, swishing two and hitting also hitting the barrel as well. Brady hit it a couple of times but couldn’t sink the ball. Knowing how competitive he is, this must be killing him… LOL! Caserio and a couple of other guys seemed to get a kick out of it and couldn’t help but laugh when Hoyer sank second one of the day.

* Butler had a nice pick of a Hoyer pass intended for Edelman.

* Despite his size, Big Vince was first to hustle over for situational work, practically sprinting over from the other field when he thought it was his turn to go in. When Pepper told him it wasn’t his turn, it was comical seeing him do an “Aw Shucks” motion yelling G-D Damn!

* During two-minute offense, Brady and Co. moved the ball down but settled for a field goal. When Hoyer took the reins, he hit Gronkowski with a nice pass in the middle followed by an incomplete attempt then hit Taylor Price for a TD the in corner EZ in while he was in double coverage to end the drive.

* TBC didn’t finish practice but was working on the sidelines with trainers.

* Gostkowski hit several field goals to wrap up practice and give the crowd their daily exercise.

*DLine signed today and a huge cheer erupted just as I was leaving when Welker went over to sign as well.

That’s a wrap on Training Camp 2010 for me! (There is a walkthrough in the morning but I’m not going.) Special thanks to Mike for keeping me company every day and to Big Al for his photography and observations when he makes the trek as well. Time to switch gears into Back to School Mode and of course… On to the regular season! Go Pats!!

Just in from the extra long practice that started a bit early and ended a bit late. Luckily, the parking was in the normal spots so there wasn’t a long hike to add to the already long day. As in the morning’s session, Pats were in blue and Saints were in white. They each used a field for warm ups (Pats on fan side, Saints on family side) until it was time to come together for 1:1 drills and team sessions.

Here’s the Cliff Note’s version of today’s pm session as I have a LOT to do tonight and with the 3 ring circus and all the bodies out there, it was easy to miss things:

* Before the media tent filled to overflowing capacity, Gino could be spotted in there taking in the session.

* I get a bang out of the Saints high kicking their way across the field during their stretch period.

* During drills, when the DL were hitting the double sled, the tandem of Wilfork and Gerard Warren nearly knocked Pepper down in the process.

* During positional work, a fan next to me started yelling to Marques Murrell, who was on one knee with his helmet off “Hey 93, want a chair?” It progressed to “want a couch?” “get up 93!” “How about a freeze pop?” The crowd started laughing and really got into it when the kid hawking the frozen treats happened to come by yelling “Freeze Pops, Here!” Murrell clearly heard him and started to crack a smile. Pierre Woods came by and knealt next to him but then the horn sounded for the next period. It was a good thing too, since security had had enough and told the man to cool it. Murrell, ironically got carted off at the end of practice but I didn’t see a play in which he may have gotten injured.

*Green-Ellis got barked at by ST coach OBrien for screwing up during an onside kick.

* Hoyer connected with Edelman during situational work and he crashed into the sidelines and his teammates standing there.

*Brady was showing some frustration out there again today, using a few choice words and throwing his helmet down at one point during the 7:7 period.

* Tate had a spectacular catch in the corner EZ where he turned around caught the ball over his head while running backward during the team portion.

*Wheatley picked off Brees; Darius Butler and Brandon Spikes each batted one away.

*There was some physicality out there as Welker ended up getting squashed between two defenders (but held on the the ball for a TD) on one play and Gronkowski caught a Hoyer pass only to run into the brick wall of Vilma.

* Gary Guyton was on the sidelines today in shorts, bright green footwear and a sleeve on his left leg.

* After practice, it seemed that quite a few full units signed once again so I’m not sure who was actually on the docket for duty. DL, OL, and TEs all signed. I didn’t see any Saints signing this afternoon BUT, it started to rain just as practice ended so I didn’t stick around to see if any came over.

I’m definitely not attending in the morning as I have an appointment and thought for sure I would be safe scheduling it for the day before a game. However, the Pats pulled a fast one on me and are holding an open practice on the day before a game for the first time in all the years that I’ve been a fixture at camp. Have fun, kids!

Just in from the first joint practice with the Saints. We parked what seemed to be miles away and it took a bit for the place to fill up (probably due to the hike from the lots) but it ended up packed to the gills. Today was by far, the stickiest of days out there. The morning started with a thick haze then burned off as the day went on.

For those with attention issues, today was a whopper! There were so many guys out on the field, running all over the place, balls flying, flags flying, and multiple activities going on simultaneously it was hard to choose where to look. One thing for sure though, it brought back shades of Bryant with the defense doing their drills right up close to the ropes and the fans.

Here’s some of my takeaways from today:

* Our team all wore blue today, except for QB’s who still wore red. Saints were in white.

* The sidelines were swarming with folks.. Saints owners in their straw hats out early, the Krafts, and Bon Jovi, who along with his son, spent some time with BB and his sons, then hung with Mr. Kraft when BB went to work. Mike Mayock was there again today too.

* Neal and Brady both greeted Randall Gay when they took to the field and Gay gestured to 12’s hair then they chuckled.

* Both teams did drills and stretching then joined for 1:1 work and full team work.

* During 1:1 pass coverage drills, Rod Owens (15) had a sweet, over the shoulder catch from Hoyer while being covered by Torrence Leigh (24).

* The man with the coolest of names.. Zoltan, had a really rough day.. shanking quite a few punts. He really looked horrible today.. (Sorry to say, but true.) During full squad punt coverage, the Saints got too close and took responsibility, warning their players to stay away from the punter. Chung took a direct snap at one point.

* Brady hit Moss easily for a couple (at least) deep TD passes during full squad work, one in which he was double teamed yet came up with the ball in the EZ.

* Darius Butler didn’t have the greatest of days today, seeming to be a step behind the Saints receivers most of the morning.

*Brady must have been happy today with the Red Zone work featuring the TEs. Hernandez and Crumpler scored to end both of his drives.

* Meriweather had an outstanding defensive play in the EZ breaking up a Brees to Shockey pass. Spikes also knocked one down.

* Lots of flags were flying.. Patriots players tend to take a lap if they jump but the Saints don’t. Mike Wright took one today.

* Gostkowski hit 6/7 field goals, and ran one play resulting in a Crumpler reception.

Randomness:

* Ever wonder why the Pats have such great photos? Now I know.. Pats photographer David Silverman will do just about anything for the shot I guess.. He spent some time on the roof of one of the buildings taking pics!

* Not really sure which unit was assigned to sign today because it looked like the entire RB and DB units were out there. Moss and Welker could be spotted down by the charitable foundation tent too. Some Saints players signed along the grass, including Reggie Bush, who was clearly a fan fave. Greer was yelling Who Dat to fans when he came by to sign.

*As predicted, the autograph crowd was the roughest I’ve seen in years, pushing, shoving, folks running and sneaking over to the restricted area and adults practically trampling kids. That’s what happens when Super Bowl Champions are on the field.

*PS…. If anyone has seen the rookie hairdoo that Tebow is sporting over in Denver, my gut tells me that his creation has Lonie Paxton written all over it! It’s very similar to the Friar Tuck Doo that Kaczur was blessed with back in his day. LOL

I’m heading back out early for the afternoon session but may not have time to blog later… We’ll see what the night brings. Go Pats!!

Just in from the afternoon practice, my first of the day as I purposely skipped the morning walkthrough. Unlike the cooler temps for most of camp, the HHH weather that we’ve had most of the summer was back in full force. Guys were in full pads for the sparsely attended session.

Here are my quickies for today:

* OL Thomas Welch spent time with the ST group at the beginning of practice working on long snapping.

* As announced, zebras were on the field and will be here for the joint practices with the Saints as well. Flags were flying during 1:1 passing drills and throughout practice.

* Some notable plays during aforementioned drills were Welker over Meriweather: Price spinning to get away from Wheatley; and some “he makes it look WAY too easy” moves by Moss including a major fake outs over Arrington and Butler.

* The big units worked in the far field with officials and many a player took a lap. I saw Love, Ninkovich, Cunningham, Wilfork, Weston, and a new dude Darnell Stapleton, wearing 65 making the rounds.

* During Red Zone work, Brady hit Welker in the EZ over Wilhite and later, when Darius Butler successfully defended against Moss, Brady could be heard calling for a flag.

* Brady did the trashcan drill and while I couldn’t see the barrel in the corner EZ from where I was sitting, heard the “thunk” a couple of times. (The other QB’s were on the main field running plays.)

* Hoyer saw a lot of action again today.

* Moss has quite the spiral…

* Carson Butler had a nice catch during drills and later took a lap during the team period.

* Both Mr. Kraft and Jonathan Kraft were on the sidelines today, with JK responding to pleas from some fans on the grass for his autograph.

* Wide Receivers signed today.

Tomorrow, the Saints will be on the field for two sessions with the Pats and I expect the place will be packed. Hopefully, the stray T-Storms stay away and the public sessions take place as planned. 9:00-11:00 & 3:45-5:30 See you there!

Having skipped this morning’s walkthru, I just got in from this afternoon’s practice. Guys were in full pads once again and it started off a bit cloudy then got hot and sunny by the end.

Here are some quick tidbits for today:

*Wilhite, Pryor, and Levoir were back practicing today.

* Newcomer Rod Owens (15) faked Darius Butler out of his shorts during 1:1 Passing Drills by cutting and faking him out, catching the ball, wide open. Butler wasn’t happy but gave Owen his props.

* Tate caught a long bomb along the sidelines from Hoyer during 11:11 work, diving in the process, and getting a huge ovation from the crowd. McCourty was covering.

* Moss (covered by Meriweather), had a big over the shoulder TD and ran directly to some fans on the grass wearing Moss jerseys to celebrate with High Fives.

* Brian Hoyer was the QB du jour…

* Levoir (64) took a lap for a false start.

* Aaron Hernandez continued to catch everything that came his way.

* Gronkowski had a nice TD grab during hurry-up, making up for an earlier drop.

*Practice ended with lots and lots of sprints for the whole squad.

Randomness:

* Jonathan Kraft made an appearance on the sidelines today.

* ESPN’s Adam Schefter signed a few autographs while making his way along the sidelines then proceeded to get high fives along the route to his destination in the back corner of the practice fields.

* D-LIne signed after practice.

From the “Make a Liar out of Me” file… I assumed that there would be no practice this weekend because nothing is up yet and figured that BB was giving the team the weekend off… As of now, there’s no word on it so there may be something going on after all.. (Should have listened to those nuns when they talked about what happens when you ASS/U/ME! LOL) If there is practice, I’ll likely bow out since I have too many Real Life things going on. Have a good weekend, All!

Headed back to camp for the PM session but it turned out to be a whole lotta nuttin…. guys were in shorts, jerseys, and helmets for the low key afternoon practice. Zoltan was the first on the field as usual and at the beginning of practice the entire offense was on the main field while BB met with the entire defensive unit on the family tent side of the practice fields. Guys did some stretching and light drills before the thunder started rumbling. There wasn’t much to see before they all headed into the fieldhouse due to thunderstorms. Seems like they timed it just right too, as the sky opened up just as I got to my car. We’re in dire need of rain, so this gardener is A-OK with it!

Hi kids… after missing yesterday afternoon’s single shorts-n-shells practice due to transportation issues, I was back in my usual spot for this morning’s first practice of the day. Despite a sprinkly ride in, the rain held off for the muggy, full-pad morning session.

Here are my quickies for today:

* Tate and Price drew early cheers from the crowd during drills, hauling in Brady passes in the corner endzone.

* The RB/DB blocking drill was a fave this morning with Arrington getting the best of Taylor via a spin move drawing oohs and ahs from the crowd. Edelman took some reps as DB for the drill. McCourty got by vet Faulk and earned some praise from him for his feat.

* The 2010 Trash Can drill was on tap once again this morning. Rookie Zac Robinson got to participate and actually connected. Hoyer sunk one with a swish then celebrated by running and jumping over to the sideline,hooting all the way. Brady, unfortunately, didn’t sink any but did hit the side once.

* Zoltan was sporting two orange shoes today instead on just one.

* During 11:11 work, Mayo connected with Welker a few times; with one huge hit in which Welker came across the middle, caught Brady’s pass , and literally smacked into the brick wall of Mayo.. The crowd gasped but 83 was no worse for the wear. Bet it was good to get that out of the way!

* Tensions were high during 2 minute work and with 12 barking out the down and including an F-bomb. He later was not pleased with his Oline, called them out and took awhile to cool off away from them, (hanging with 81 and 83) while the second string had their turn on the field.

*Fred Taylor bobbled and dropped what should have been an easy one over the middle.

* DB’s signed after practice. A few lucky fans left with gloves as Tate ran his over to someone and Chung tossed his into the crowd.

That’s all I have time for right now.. I’ll be heading back for the afternoon session and hope that the expected T-storm holds off.

On another note: @realpatriots announced that there will be a double session practice against the Saints on 8/10 and going against the usual closed-practice norm on the day before a game, there is a public practice scheduled for 9:30 on 8/11.